A man has been left heartbroken after discovering his beloved birds had been slaughtered in their coop.

Kevin Haywood, aged 60, made the grim discovery yesterday after opening up the coop in his garden in Halfway and discovering the remains of his lifeless birds.

Kevin Haywood, of Sewell Road, Halfway has had his chickens have been killed in his back garden and unhappy with the treatment he has received from the police. Picture: Andrew Roe

One cockrell, five hens and six chicks had all been strangled.

Mr Haywood, of Sewell Road, who is a full-time carer for his 80-year-old mum Sheila, said he is devastated at the attack on his birds, which he bred.

“Caring for the birds was my hobby, they were my pets,” he said.

“With caring for my mum I used to pop out to the coop for a little break - both mum and I loved them, they were lovely birds and did not deserve this.

Kevin Haywood, of Sewell Road, Halfway has had his chickens have been killed in his back garden and unhappy with the treatment he has received from the police. Picture: Andrew Roe

“To go outside expecting to feed them but to find them all dead was a terrible shock. I can’t understand why or how anybody could do something so cruel.”

He said he had the birds for around a year.

“They were a bit of company and I was always popping in and out to see them. I used to have birds when I was younger and started breeding them again about a year ago,” he said.

Mr Haywood said he was disappointed at the police response to his report of the attack on the coop, claiming he was told the force was treating the incident as ‘criminal damage’ and would not be sending any officers out to see him.

Kevin Haywood, of Sewell Road, Halfway has had his chickens have been killed in his back garden and unhappy with the treatment he has received from the police. Picture: Andrew Roe

“I thought somebody would have the decency to come out and see me, but all I have been given is an incident number in case I want to make an insurance claim,” he said.

“It is disappointing that they are just treating this as criminal damage bearing in mind the birds have been killed.

“We never see any police around here anymore, it feels like we can’t speak to anyone from our local force anymore.”

Anyone with information should call South Yorkshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.